How to ‘hack’ Black Friday

0

Shares

With Black Friday on the horizon, it’s time to start preparations. With the right approach, you can use Black Friday to finish your Christmas shopping a month early without breaking the bank. Take a look at these tips to ensure you get the most out of your bargain hunting and save yourself some cash.

Do your research

Make sure you research what you’re hoping to buy. Has your partner been lusting after a new games console, watch or boxset? Make a list of what bargains you’ll be looking for when the day comes and make sure you thoroughly research retailers, prices as they currently stand, and what prices you expect to see on Black Friday. Many retailers will let you know what their Black Friday prices will be in advance, so do some digging and work out exactly what you’re hoping to spend and how this fits in with your budget.

Set your budget and be strict

After your research, you should know what prices you’re hoping to bag on Black Friday, and therefore what your maximum spend is for each item. Spending less than you thought on another item might give you a little more wriggle room on another, but you must be strict and not go over your maximum spend for all items combined. If it’s no longer a bargain then don’t do it!

Don’t forget to consider delivery prices – even if you think you’ve got a great deal, make sure you check that delivery prices don’t take the item over budget. If you’re buying from second hand sites or online marketplaces like eBay, you might find that you need to arrange your own courier so make sure you include the cost of this in your total price.

Create your strategy

After doing your research and working out your budget, you should strategise for the day. You should now know which retailers are likely to be offering the best prices for the items you’re looking for, so map out your plan of action for when the stores open, be them online or offline. Will Store X be offering a cheaper price than Store Y? If yes, start with Store X, knowing you’ve got some back ups if items sell out before you’ve been able to get there yourself. If you’ve got extra pairs of hands to help you, you might want to have several people browsing different sites at the same time (or visiting different stores in person at the same time). If you do this, make sure everyone has been given their own task – that they’re doing something different and not buying the same item multiple times unnecessarily!

Give yourself plenty of time

Make sure you don’t rush the process – you don’t want to mess up your meticulously worked-out budget by making a snap decision on the morning of Black Friday when you’re already late for a meeting or while multitasking. If you’re going to be at work that day, give yourself enough time outside of work to do your shopping. You might want to save it for your lunchbreak or even get up earlier than usual to make sure you’re one of the first in line to grab the bargains. Make sure you have enough time to dedicate to the task to prevent rushing and making mistakes.